Nicknames
by Miss Kafu
Summary: "A special friendship... should be made known to the world with a special nickname!" - Larry Butz, age 10.


**Just a cute fic from when Miles, Larry and Phoenix were kids. **

**DISCLAIMER: Nothing is mine. Except the story, of course.**

"Nick! Miley!"

Miles groaned as he heard Larry's footsteps approaching. Even without turning his head, he could tell that Larry's outburst had turned a few heads, and Miles didn't like it.

"Just tell him you don't like it," whispered Wright. "Look, if you don't tell him today, I will."

"... Let's do it together," begged Miles. He knew that if he were to confront Larry about it and end up with a migraine, he was going to drag the spikey-haired boy with him.

"Alright, fine."

He supposed that it couldn't go on forever. And after all, even though he was an idiot, Larry was still one of Miles' best friends. And best friends were supposed to be able to trust each other with everything, including the truth. As the Butz approached, Miles braced himself for his big confession. He wasn't used to this type of thing.

"Hey Miley, what's wrong?" asked Larry once he had caught up with his friends. "What're you guys blocking the sidewalk for? Let's hurry to Nick's house, or we're gonna miss Sailor Moon!"

"Larry, I have to tell you something."

"What is it, Miley? You can tell me anything!"

"Umm... err... how do I put this..."

To Miles' relief, Wright came to his rescue and started: "Larry... you know that 'Miley' is a girl's name, right?"

"Huh? It is?"

"Honestly, Larry! Have you ever met a boy named Miley?"

"I've never met anyone named Miley," said Larry with that happy-go-lucky look on his face. "It's a name I made up for Miley."

"Larry you idiot, 'Miley' is the name of that fifth grader you like so much!"

"Huh? Really? That's her name?"

"Not to mention..." Miles finally spoke in a low voice. "There's that singer on TV whose name is Miley."

"That's so cool! Miley is a superstar like the Miley on TV!"

"The problem is..." continued Miles. "None of the big kids like Miley Cyrus. They make fun of her alot. Which is why I'd like it if you stopped calling me 'Miley.' Everyone laughs at us when you do. Why don't you just call me 'Miles?' "

Some sort of emotion began dawning on Larry's face. Miles anxiously watched for Larry's reaction, hoping that he'd understand. However, as soon as he saw tears filling up the boy's eyes, he knew that an understanding Larry would be much too much to ask for.

"MILEYYYY!" Larry started screaming. "Is this all our friendship means to you?"

"...Huh?"

Larry stuck his thumb up and gave Miles his trademark crooked grin. "A special friendship... should be made known to the world with a special nickname!"

"Not really," said Wright.

"NICK, YOU'RE HORRIBLE!" Larry's eyes began tearing up again. "You and Miley keep calling each other by your last names! Only enemies do that! ENEMIES! Are you guys enemies?"

"Larry, I keep telling you, I already have a cousin named Miles." It was true, Phoenix had a cousin named Miles Wright. Because distinguishing his cousin and his friend by calling them "Miles Double-Yew" and "Miles Eee" was too much of a hassle, the spikey-haired boy resolved to just calling his friend by his last name, "Edgeworth." Miles liked it when he was called "Edgeworth" because it sounded mature and grown-up, and so he, in turn, began calling Phoenix by his last name.

Larry sighed in defeat. "I guess I'll just have to come up with a new nickname for you then, Miley."

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Let's see... if Phoenix is Nick, then Miles... Hey, how about I call you 'Les?' Ooo, how about 'Leslie?' "

"I dunno..." replied Wright. "He doesn't really look like a Leslie. I guess it's better than Miley, though."

"What do you think, Miley?"

"Umm..." Miles wasn't too sure what to say. He didn't think he could ever get used to being called "Leslie." "Could you think of something else?"

"Hey Larry, try something with his last name."

"Nuh uh, Nick, I'm not enemies with him like you are!"

"Grow up, Larry. Besides, you have more room to work with. You can come up with tons of stuff with 'Edgeworth.' "

"But Nick, I can't even spell that."

As his friends bickered, Miles took a seat on the edge of the sidewalk. He was used to listening to the two argue, and Larry's weak and ridiculous arguments even made the conversation amusing to listen to. Sure, Larry was a ditz and Wright had the tendency to jump to crazy conclusions, but at the end of the day, Miles always walked home from school with them, and he thanked his lucky stars that he had such amazing friends.

Before they became friends, Miles was always alone. He wasn't disliked; Miles had many admirers in his class, and his teachers always told him that he was a joy to teach. However, he was unable to form any close bonds with his classmates. At recess, he would sit by himself under a tree with a book, scanning the words but not reading them. Instead, he would enviously watch the kids from behind his book, wishing that they would invite him to play but too prideful to ask them himself. Miles particularly eyed Phoenix and Larry. The strange pair was always extremely amusing to watch because of their crazy antics, yet their bond was obviously strong, and Miles would wish for a friendship just like theirs. His chance for such a friendship came after their class trial. To thank him for his defense, Phoenix offered to share some snacks with Miles at recess, and the rest is history.

"Okay, Miley!" Larry's booming voice snapped Miles out of his thoughts. "What do you think? Do you like it?"

"...Pardon?"

"Your new nickname, silly! The one Nick just helped me come up with! How about I call you 'Edgey' from now on?"

Edgey, huh?

"...I actually like it."

"Awesome! Alright, from now on, you're 'Edgey.' Now come on, Edgey, Nick! We gotta hurry, or we're gonna miss our show!"

And with that, the three boys ran as fast as they could, laughing all the way.


End file.
